In the UK, abortion is no longer a silent, private pain. Women who undergo it within the 24th week of gestation, in fact, can have their experience of motherhood officially recognised. The lobbying work of associations and non-profit organizations committed to supporting families who are victims of abortion has, in fact, convinced the NHS, the British national health service, to equip itself to issue a certificate in memory of the child who, if desired, also includes name, gender, and other parent’s name. The document, free, official, but without legal value, can be requested retroactively starting from September 2018 by one of the parents and is an important sign of support for those going through this painful experience. Furthermore, NHS employees are the first to be able to request up to ten days of paid leave (five for the partner) in the case of an abortion within the 24th week and more and more companies are starting to offer “compassionate leave” in the case of involuntary terminations of pregnancy. “Miscarriage and other types of baby loss before 24 weeks, such as molar or ectopic pregnancy, are often downplayed and treated as a “clinical event” or “those things that happen” – commented Samantha Collinge, Midwife bereavement manager at the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and co-chair of the Pregnancy Loss Review -. Unfortunately, the emotional impact of child loss is often ignored.” The initiative is the result of research on women’s health in relation to motherhood which included a “chapter” on pregnancy loss which produced a series of recommendations to train operators and accompany lost parents on their journey .
An unrecognized pain
Every year, in the United Kingdom, there are 250 thousand spontaneous abortions or abortions for medical reasons, as well as 11 thousand hospitalizations for ectopic pregnancies. A study conducted by Imperial College London also revealed the depth of the trauma of losing a pregnancy in the early stages. Compared to the control group of women who completed a pregnancy, one month after the abortion, 29% of women showed signs of post-traumatic stress; 24% suffered from anxiety and 11% from depression. “Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric pathology, a complication of mourning and emerges with intense reactions relating to some memory of the loss of the child, or of the child himself, flashbacks, distressing nightmares, hyper-vigilance, strong emotional reactions”, explains Denise Pagano, psychologist and consultant for mourning (Nine months after the event, 18% of women suffered from PTSD, 17% from anxiety and 6% from depression. In practice, even if the The psychological impact declines over time remains a common trait among those who have lived this experience. Added to this is the silence that surrounds women who have undergone an abortion and which, now, the United Kingdom aims to reduce. “Regardless of how much however long the pregnancy lasted, you have always lost a baby – commented a woman interviewed by the BBC the day after the announcement of the NHS initiative – and the certificate not only proves it, but is also an opportunity for people to share their experience.”
The loneliness of parents
Many women experience the first trimester with the often unexpressed fear of miscarriage, considering that, on average, 15-20% of pregnancies are terminated within the 12th week. “There is very little talk about the fears that arise during pregnancy, even during the pre-natal course,” observes Dr. Pagano. “And one of the most unspoken fears is precisely that of losing the child”. This silence accompanies women when their fear becomes reality and they have to deal with perinatal mourning which, very often, is an unacknowledged and therefore denied mourning. “Whether it happens in the first three months of pregnancy or at the end of pregnancy, the loss of the baby is a mourning in all respects – continues Pagano -. Even though it is not “real” for other people, the child and the plans that concern him already exist in the minds and hearts of the parents even before he is conceived and this gives concreteness to the child and the relationship that develops with him”. In Italy, we have begun to talk about perinatal bereavement thanks to the awareness-raising work carried out by the Ciao Lapo Association towards families and healthcare workers, founded by Dr. Claudia Ravaldi, a mother who has experienced perinatal bereavement (www. ciaolapo.it).
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Changing the culture
Instead of giving space to recognizing mourning and listening, current culture does the opposite. “It is thought it is better not to talk about it so as not to exacerbate the suffering, it is trivialized by saying “there will be another one anyway”, it is almost like rushing the parents.” Denied mourning, therefore, does not have the possibility of expressing itself: “It cannot be told, it cannot be cried and this aggravates the already painful condition of the mourners, mother and father. The lack of recognition of perinatal bereavement can lead to devastating consequences, as anxiety is easily triggered if other miscarriages have already occurred and is stronger for subsequent pregnancies.” Starting from all these elements, therefore, the meaning of the NHS initiative appears clear: “On the one hand it gives validity to the experience of perinatal death that the parents are experiencing, on the other it testifies that even if the child existed for a very short time in the belly or in the mind of the mother, the woman remains a mother” summarizes Pagano. Finally, the Baby Loss certificate also has an importance on a social level: “By bringing to light the experience of perinatal death, it relieves the mother of the sense of guilt and “authorizes” her to talk about what happened to her. Even the people around her, healthcare workers, friends, family and colleagues can stand by her side, support and participate”, concludes Dr. Pagano.
#Miscarriage #grants #leave #working #women
– 2024-04-05 21:31:56
